A Higher Calling
by absorbaloff
Summary: Lucifer is on the rebound when he comes across a young witch in London. Lucifer is drawn to Hermione, and she to him. There's more to it than lust. Why are they connected? And how will the Weasleys take it? Lemons, adult content within - if you don't like that sort of stuff, don't read it.
1. Chapter 1

When Chloe chose her daughter, and a mortal life, over eternity with him, Lucifer had to escape. He spent months traveling the world. People thought it was to drink himself into oblivion and sleep with anyone who moved. And while he did both of those things, he spent his sober time looking for the supernatural - Los Angeles had been so full of actors and fakes that the superficial seemed to preclude the supernatural. He wanted to find the occult, and not the sycophants, there were plenty of those in LA. He wanted the truly supernatural: witches, werewolves, vampires, and mermaids.

While he was reveling in the supernatural community in his time in London, a gorgeous young witch caught his eye.

She wasn't a traditional beauty, but she had a self-sure air about her. She was out of place on this street, Nocturn Alley, but she had come from a potion supply store, with two large bags to show for her efforts. People greeted her when she walked by, and little witches and wizards whispered and pointed, giggling when she would wave to them.

Lucifer had no idea who she was, but he was going to find out.

He followed her into Diagon Alley, where she made her way towards The Leaky Cauldron. He'd spent enough time around here in the last week or so to know she would probably leave through there, into the regular, ordinary world.

Walking down the street, a newspaper salesman was shouting headlines. One such shout earned him a deadly stare from the woman in question. If he hadn't known better, he would have said the young man has seen his own, _true_ face, rather than a glare from a young witch. But the reaction was the same, nonetheless.

As he gained on her, he stopped to buy the newspaper in question. The cover news story of _The Daily Prophet_, in its beautiful, animated glory, was this woman, Hermione Granger-Weasley, slapping Ron Weasley across the face, while the young witch whose lipstick was smeared across Ron's face, hid behind him. The headline read "Tarnish on the Golden Trio." Lucifer struggled to catch up to this 'Hermione' and skim the article at the same time. What he could gather, it wasn't Ron's first time cheating on her, but it was his last. And the article anticipated divorce filings before week's end.

When Lucifer made his way into the pub, he searched the far, muggle-side entrance, with no Hermione in sight.

"You may as well join me, you've worked this hard to keep track of me."

In the shadow-covered booth, in the corner, Hermione sat. As Lucifer approached, the barman brought to the table two frothy looking beer-like beverages, two small tumblers with an amber liquid in them, as well as a bowl of ginger and a bowl of peanuts.

She gestured with her hand for him to take a seat in the booth opposite. He did so, and they lifted the tumblers. Hermione downed hers in one, so Lucifer followed suit. He was not prepared for Fire Whiskey this early in the day and coughed. She chuckled, and bit into a piece of ginger, before sipping, what he would learn, was Butterbeer.

"I know you're not from _The Prophet_, they only hire witches and wizards, and you're not. But I don't know what you are. I'm sorry, I'm thinking out loud." She extended her hand. "Hermione Granger." He saw the restraint it took her to stop short, but admired the tenacity, claiming her name and identity this early after a breakup. Lucifer made a mental note that she wasn't broken-hearted.

He shook the proffered hand and held it, she let it happen.

"Lucifer Morningstar."

He watched, people always had a reaction, he waited to see hers.

"Do you mean the _actual_ Lucifer? Or were your parents just fans?" He paused a beat, for affect, of course.

"The actual." He let the fire behind his eyes shine through. Her eyes grew wide, not in fear, but intrigue. She also didn't pull her hand away. So, Lucifer dared to hold her hand in both of his. She did react to this, and Lucifer noticed it: she blushed. This apparently famous, self-assured woman still appreciated a bit of flirting. He was thrilled.

"Let me buy you a drink." He said, gently stroking her hand with his thumbs.

"We've had two." She pointed out, her small thumb running along the curve of his long, fine fingers. She wasn't saying no, she was just being practical. "Besides, they never let me pay."

"Do they do that for all young, attractive witches? Or just yourself?"

She blushed again.

"Only the ones who saved the world."

Lucifer was confused. She was serious.

"You have an English accent, but you could have picked anywhere. I forget how good the cover-up was."

She spent the next two hours with him in the booth, explaining the war, the golden trio, horcruxes, and Voldemort. He sat, absorbed in the story, listening intently, asking questions as necessary. Meanwhile, they had several more drinks and shared a meal together.

"But if you didn't know any of that," she paused, looking across the table to him, with eyes full of alcohol and an afternoon of flirting, "why did you follow me in the first place?"

And so, Lucifer explained his wings, his Father, Charlotte, Chloe, and his world tour. He didn't hold back and she didn't look bothered. She listened to his story, or the abbreviated, concise version.

"And so, I was standing there when this confident, amazing, beautiful young witch starts off, away from me, and I knew I had to meet her."

He put his hands down on the table. Hermione's hands felt cold now that he had let them go. She knew they must have let go to have their drinks, and their food, but it happened so naturally, she couldn't remember.

"So now what?"

She had to ask.

Lucifer looked back at her, confused. He hadn't thought of it himself. They felt natural together, that separating seemed foreign.

"Can I walk you home?"

"It's a bit far. I was going to apparate."

He knew the concept, but hadn't seen it done. What he did know was: he had wings for travel, and no magic at his own disposal. He looked a bit sad.

"You are welcome to join me for tea though, if you'd like."

While they shared lunch, it was getting late, another meal was necessary.

"I'd love to, but I'll need directions."

Hermione looked at him confused. Then it clicked. "I can apparate with you, if you trust me." She paused, then added, "How were you going to travel?"

He raised his eyebrows in suggestion, but left her question unanswered. He can save the wings for another day.

They apparated together, to a quiet street, where she went through a tiny wooden gate, up to the door of a small terraced home.

Hermione had reached the front door when she suddenly dropped her packages and turned toward Lucifer, who was passing through the gate. "Wait!" She yelled. Lucifer put the latch on the gate and turned to her.

"You're afraid that the protective spell you put up, to protect your home from evil, was going to hurt me?" When she looked stricken, he amended, "to kill me?"

She nodded.

"People are evil," he explained. "I don't make anyone do anything. But if they do those evil things, I punish them for it." Hermione saw the fire in his eyes again, and felt the heat that emanated from his skin. "And while I have no magic of my own, I can sense it, especially when the spell is as powerful as this one."

He joined her on the front stoop, and started to bend, preparing to help pick up the fallen items. She stopped him with a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry about that," she said to him. Lucifer went to brush it away, the way he usually does to those comments, but she held his eyes, sincerity in her own.

"Thank you," was all he could manage, even at a whisper. Centuries of having to explain he wasn't evil, wore a devil out.

Hermione stood on her tip-toes and kissed him gently on the cheek, her lips touching the very corner of his own. His eyes closed on their own, just briefly.

He opened them, and she smiled up at him.

"Let me help you . . . " he started to say, leaning forward to start picking up again, before she cut him off.

"Witch, remember? Magic."

She took out her wand and lifted the bags and their spilled contents. Lucifer held out his arms, so the two newly-collected bags could rest with him while she fumbled in her bag for her keys.

"Why do you bother with keys when you are using magic?" Lucifer asked as they made their way inside, placing the bags on the entry-way table.

"Sometimes the simplest solutions are the easiest. Magic might deter some people, but if I don't want to risk killing a stupid muggle, I just lock the door."

"You really do have lethal defenses on your house? It's not just for your ex, is it?" Hermione turned toward him, about to lecture, when she saw the smile he wielded. She relaxed.

"No, not him. But there are followers of Voldemort who are still out there, and still angry. Harry and Ginny moved out of the country to escape it."

She looked at Lucifer.

This tall, dark, and very handsome man was in her house. She blushed.

"Um, I'm going to bring my supplies to my workshop, downstairs" she pointed down. "I'll get the tea started after that."

"Sure," Lucifer nodded.

Hermione came up to see the kettle on the stove, and Lucifer was getting some items from the fridge, to put together sandwiches.

"Thought I could get us a head start."

She smiled. She put a hand on his bicep as she leaned around him to the cupboard, to get plates.

They worked together, talking about nothing important. When they reached the topic of mustard vs. mayonnaise, they had sandwiches and a pot of tea. They sat down and started to tuck in, when Hermione stopped.

"You know what we need?"

"Crisps?" Lucifer offered.

"Exactly."

Lucifer went to stand, when she motioned for him to stay seated.

After _accio crisps_ proved fruitful, they enjoyed their second meal of the day. They finished and stayed at the small kitchen table. Hermione looked at her hand in Lucifer's. She thought it funny, she didn't remember them picking up each other's hands again, but she didn't seem to mind it.

"Can I ask a bit of a random question?" Lucifer interrupted the quiet, his gaze stayed on their joined hands.

"Please do." She too was focused on their hands, intertwined and slowly stroking the other's, learning their touch.

"If witches and wizards can apparate and _accio_ all over the place, how come there aren't more fat magical people?"

Hermione laughed, not at him, he sensed as much, too. She looked up at him, they smiled at one another.

"Well, it takes energy for us to perform spells, and to use magic, some of it is internal to the person, but some of it is just old-fashioned calories."

"So, what's the difference between using magic and casting spells?"

"Well, I can give you all the ingredients for a potion, but it won't work, not if the person making isn't magical."

"So, I can't make magic potions." Lucifer pretended to be wounded.

"I'm not actually sure about you." She paused, turning fully toward him, looked him up and down. "You're not a muggle."

"Agreed."

"What's the word for angels and other . . . " Hermione was looking for the word, her hand waving in the air, like it was helping in her search.

"Celestial," Lucifer answered helpfully.

"Thank you."

Buzzing interrupted the conversation.

Lucifer left his one hand in hers, and used the other to get his mobile phone from his suit jacket's inside pocket. Hermione checked her own phone, to see it was nearly 9 at night.

"Do you need to get back to someone?" Hermione asked, regret heavy in her voice.

"It's Maze, she's making sure I'm not drunk in a gutter in Dubai or something."

"Ah." Hermione remembered the name from their earlier conversation, and that she worked for Lucifer, and was a demon.

Lucifer took the call, but never left his spot at the table.

"Yes Maze . . . no . . . no . . . England . . . no . . . yes . . . she's not like that . . . I mean she's lovely and not paid to be here . . . Yes, willingly . . . I am both handsome _and _charming! . . . no, you cannot speak to her . . . goodbye." And then he hung up.

"Sorry about that, it's just Maze."

"I have friends like that, too."

And as if on cue, Harry and Ginny's voice could be heard from the living room.

"Excuse me a second." Hermione let go of Lucifer's hand to attend to the floo call in the other room.

"We saw _The Prophet_, are you okay? Do you want us to come over?" Ginny's disembodied head projected, barely breathing, rushing to soothe her friend.

"Hi, 'Mione," Harry snuck in while Ginny paused.

"Hi! I'm okay. You don't have to come over." Hermione rushed to get her response in, before her friends could step through the floo.

"You shouldn't be alone through all this!" Ginny protested.

Hermione paused just a second, trying to figure out how to phrase her response.

"She's not alone," Lucifer stood in the doorway behind Hermione, his tall, dark frame imposing, filing the doorway.

Even in floo-form, Ginny's open mouth was clear.

"We'll let you go," Harry offered. "Ginny, say goodbye."

"Cheers," Lucifer replied.

Harry had to bodily pull Ginny from the floo.

Hermione dropped to the floor.

"I feel drunk," she confessed. "What is this?" She sat, staring up at Lucifer, who had remained in the doorway.

"Honestly, I don't know. But I feel the same way."

"Can I ask a question, and please answer honestly: have you experienced this before? With Chloe? Or Eve?"

"Hermione," he said as he sat on the floor. Hermione worried for a second about his expensive suit creasing.

He faced her on the floor, but didn't reach out to her, keeping the two of them very separate, intentionally.

Lucifer started again.

"Hermione, two things, and the first is very important, and I need you to remember it: I never lie. I may have to withhold something from you, theoretically, but I do not lie." He paused to make sure she understood. When he believed she understood, he continued.

"But as for this," he didn't gesture here, afraid he'd find his hands in hers again, out of his conscious control. "I've never experienced it before. This is new. And unique. To you."

Hermione felt a heat radiating from him. She was about to ask him to spend the night.

"Can I see you again tomorrow? I don't know what you're doing, or if you have to work, but I'd like to see you again." Lucifer rushed to say, with a lot less chill than he usually possessed.

"Yes," her response was far huskier, and sexier, than she knew how to do consciously. In response to this, Lucifer's hands ignited in flame, apparently against his will, because he immediately extinguished the flames.

"Tomorrow then. Goodnight." He got up and left, not risking the attempt to kiss her goodnight - could he stop there? Would he combust again?

When she heard the door latch, Hermione collapsed the rest of the way to the floor, lying back, looking at the ceiling.

"Seducing _the Devil_?" She asked out loud, admonishing her own bravado.

Hermione scrubbed her face with her hands before getting up. She went to one of the bookshelves in the room to grab some arithmancy books. If she wasn't going to be able to sleep, she was going to try and find some answers.


	2. Chapter 2

Lucifer used the dark, private street as an opportunity to fly off. He needed to use up some of this energy. And maybe he'd find some answers while he was at it.

Crookshanks wanted out of the house. There was something worth hunting in the garden, and he wasn't going to let Hermione keep reading until he was outside.

"Fine." She said out loud to her familiar, the way most people do to their pets. Except she knew Crookshanks really did understand.

When Hermione got up to let the cat into the front garden she saw the early morning light through the window.

What she hadn't seen was the 6-foot 3-inch Devil seated on her threshold.

The usually ornery cat let himself be pet and scratched for a solid 2 minutes before pursuing his prey in the garden. Hermione quietly chuckled to herself, watching these two interact.

Once Crookshanks left, he stood, and even a step below her, he was taller than her.

"Sorry, I couldn't sleep, so I returned early. I can go if you're sick of me."

He was half-joking, but the step he took backwards when offering to leave looked like it hurt him. She noticed it because it hurt her, too.

"No!" She shouted a bit too loud for the time of day.

"Come in," she returned to a more reasonable volume. "I'll make some coffee?"

"I brought some." Next to where he had sat on her stoop, were two take-away cups from her local cafe.

He picked them up, his hands briefly turned an orangey-pink color, then returned to normal.

"Make sure it's not too hot," he recommended, handing her a cup. She smiled as he handed her the coffee, their fingers brushing one another's during the coffee hand-off. He took off his own cup's lid and blew on it before taking a sip.

She stepped halfway out of the door to let him enter, so he had to squeeze past her to get in, intentionally. He stopped his progress directly in front of her, facing her. The heat coming from him was palpable.

"If you start this now, we'll get exactly one thing done today." His comment was as much a promise as it was a threat.

"I can think of at least three things we can get done." She returned his promise. Lucifer planted his hands on either side of her head, both aflame, as he bent to kiss her mouth.

Lucifer pulled his lips from hers, resting his forehead against hers. "Keep talking like that and I'll make you prove it." His palms left scorch marks on the wall. He moved the rest of the way into the room and let Hermione close the door.

Hermione had no idea where her behavior was coming from, but if it got this kind of a response from Lucifer, she was prepared to go into autopilot.

They sat opposite one another at the table, sipping coffee. Hermione looked at the tall, gorgeous fallen-angel in her kitchen and rather than ask a hundred intellectual questions, all she could do was check him out, and fight the urge to jump into his lap.

"Wait - you're in a new suit?" She asked, almost with a tone of disapproval.

"I am." He smirked.

Now she was mad, partly at him, partly at herself.

"I'm still in my clothes from yesterday!"

"Yes." He continued to smirk.

She stood up, declared she would be right back, and departed in a huff.

Lucifer took the opportunity to let Crookshanks back into the house, after requiring he leave his vanquished prey in the garden.

Hermione came back into the room, with fresh new clothes, and her wand in her hand, which was simultaneously drying and styling her hair.

"Do you have to go to work or anything?" Lucifer realized that he didn't know what witches and wizards did for a living, and more specifically what Hermione did.

"Uh, no, not really. I have a couple orders for some potions, and those are fine brewing on their own, and the one amulet order I have needs the new moon, so I can't do that for another 3 weeks yet." Hermione sat next to Lucifer this time, picking up her coffee cup to finish it.

Hermione explained that her brief time working in the public had been crippling for the business owner, with more people there to celebrity-watch than to buy anything. So, Hermione had started her own business, making difficult and time-consuming magical items for those willing to pay a large amount of money for it.

"I did some research last night." Hermione braced herself for the ridicule, which usually followed when she made such a declaration. It didn't come. She looked at Lucifer. He had their joined hands up, and he leaned the rest of the way to kiss Hermione's hand.

"Me too," he said. She looked at him, almost startled.

"You first," he encouraged.

If Hermione hadn't had the hots for him before, she sure did now.

Hermione collected herself to explain her findings, though they didn't have definitive answers. She outlined the methodology of her research, the statistical probabilities that went into arithmancy and what each probability line meant in the equations. She did this seamlessly as she explained her research into their encounter and each other's lives.

"So, our lines merge." She paused for effect, which was dampened by the fact Lucifer hadn't studied arithmancy, despite her earlier explanations.

"Usually lines get close, sometimes they intertwine, but to become one together, I've never seen it. The books I have don't even discuss it." She offered, finally.

"Maybe we need to shop for some more books?" Lucifer offered.

"Marry me?" Hermione blurted out. She put her hands on her mouth, clearly embarrassed.

"Early days," was his response, and he leaned over to kiss her. His lips were soft, but his presence was firm. Where their lips touched felt like a flame, but his tongue was the cooling salve to keep her there. He broke apart, to catch his breath. He looked back to her, longing clearly evident in his eyes.

"Did you find anything else?" He asked, adjusting his slacks, clearly trying to hide his growing desire for her.

Hermione looked up at Lucifer, a look that apparently expressed her desire for him in return, which ignited his hands again. She stood up, deliberately letting go of his hand, heading to the cabinet to get glasses for water, because it was clearly too warm in the small kitchen. She fixed glasses of ice water and set one in front of Lucifer. She remained standing, in an effort to try and keep them both thinking clearly.

"I did find something else." She paused.

Lucifer saw her hesitation.

"You don't want to tell me?" He was worried. In their brief time together, Hermione speaking her mind had been prevalent, holding back hadn't been high on their to-do list either.

She took a deep breath.

"Someone made me a witch."

Lucifer didn't understand, and he told her as much.

"Most witches are magical by heredity - one or both of their parents are magical. Mine aren't, they're dentists."

"There aren't other muggle-both witches in the world?"

"Sure, there are, but when I look at their lines, and compare them to mine, theirs are acts of nature. My line was deliberately manipulated. First to make me a witch, but there's more going on that I have to investigate further." Faced with this mystery to solve, she started to chew the cuticle of her thumb.

Lucifer stood up and stood next to her, he pulled on her sleeve to pull her thumb from her teeth.

"If anyone is going to eat you today, it is going to be me."

Hermione was not sure how something could be sweet and sexy at the same time, but he managed it with that line.

They stood in front of each other, not touching each other.

Hermione broke the tension. "What kind of research did you do?" Lucifer took the opportunity to walk over to the sink, depositing his empty cup and looking out the window into the garden.

"I talked to my brother, Gabe."

Hermione didn't follow at first, but then realized his brother, Gabriel, was the voice of their Father. If anyone has the inside scoop, Gabe would be it.

"What did he tell you?"

"I'll tell you later." Lucifer smiled a big, Cheshire-cat grin.

Hermione was about to get angry when there was a knock at the door. He had seen the visitor from the window.

She squinted at him in mock-indignation, and quickly stuck her tongue out at him.

He winked at her.

At the door there were in fact two visitors: Ginny and Harry.

Harry had a bag of pastries from the muggle shop down the street from his new house, and Ginny had yet _another_ sweater from her mother for Hermione. The woman was trying to knit the relationship between Ron and Hermione back together. Everyone except her knew it was over. Hermione noticed Lucifer had stepped away, though she definitely thought he was hiding.

Harry walked into the living room and helped himself to a seat on the sofa; when there was no extremely handsome stranger standing around the room, Ginny reluctantly joined him.

"So. Who's your new friend?" Harry dared broach the subject. He had that "I fought Voldemort and won" invincible grin going on. Hermione couldn't help but laugh. She was genuinely happy, and her friend, her best friend, could see it, so of course he had to make fun of her for it.

"Well, he's Lucifer."

"His name is Lucifer, after the devil?" Ginny looked startled.

"No," Hermione continued calmly. "He is the Devil, Lucifer Morningstar." Harry looked impressed; Ginny looked horrified.

"Nice," replied Harry. Ginny slapped his arm.

"It's not 'nice,'" she aimed at Harry. "You dumped my brother for the Devil!?" Ginny was getting red in the face, loud in volume and targeting Hermione with her anger.

Lucifer, who has been eavesdropping, flushed the loo and walked into the room, drying his hands on a towel.

"No, Ginevra, I dumped your brother because he cheated on me with half the witches in London. I'm with Lucifer because he makes me happy." Hermione's volume was flat, but her tone was firm, she wasn't in the mood to deal with any Weasley bullshit. The men in the room knew it, unfortunately the one Weasley didn't.

Lucifer tried to intercede, discarding the towel, stepping further into the room and shaking hands with Harry.

"Lucifer. Pleasure to meet you."

"Harry. I went to your club a few years back, nice place."

Lucifer looked pleased.

Ginny did not.

"You did what?" She was starting to resemble her mother, Hermione thought.

Harry, knowing it had to happen regardless, ripped the Band-Aid right off. "Remember for my stag party, the boys and I apparated to a club in LA? Lucifer owns LUX."

Lucifer stood next to Harry, arms crossed over his chest, pleased with himself. He had heard about Harry from Hermione, winning the war against dark wizards, and was thrilled his club had enough reputation to bring such a big name across the world.

Hermione tried to signal to Lucifer with her eyes to tone it down, but he didn't know what she was doing. Next thing he knew, a fireball had burnt the front of his suit and shirt off him. Of course, fire didn't hurt him, but it did hurt Prada. He looked up to see the offending red-head in some sort of containment bubble, being escorted from the premises at the end of Hermione's wand.

Harry kissed Hermione on the cheeks as he left, to release his wife from the bubble outside the front gate. Hermione slammed the door shut.

"The nerve of her," Hermione was fuming.

"She won't come back and try it again?" Lucifer was worried about the remainder of his suit.

"She can't. Once she has malice in her heart against me, she can't enter. Until she gets over it."

Hermione was angrily pacing, so it took a minute for her to realize he was staring at her.

"What?"

"You didn't do that spell when she attacked me?"

"No, it's the wards I put up. To protect . . . "

She had caught up with him.

"Your house protected me?"

"Apparently."

She blushed.

He went over to her and pulled her into a hug. He meant it to be chaste, but with most of his shirt missing, she was pressed against his bare chest. He tried to hold as still as possible, hoping that he could ignore his erection. Then she pressed against his chest more, and moaned, ever-so-slightly.

At this point _his_ moan was involuntary.

Hermione, knowing what opportunity presented itself, reached up, putting her hands on the base of his neck, his skin warm under her fingers.

"I didn't tell you about my research." Lucifer thought he could buy some time with the truth.

Hermione was finding it hard to listen. Pressed up against Lucifer, she could feel every last inch of him. She threaded one of her hands into the hair at the nape of his neck, the contact was as necessary as air to the lungs.

Lucifer almost forgot what he was going to say.

"Hermione," he was pleading with her, he couldn't say no to her at this point, so he needed her to wait, for the two of them.

He put his hands on her wrists, and she stopped, releasing her hands from him, so that they stood facing each other, holding hands between them.

"Gabe told me, that," he paused, he needed to breath, their proximity and contact was overwhelming.

"He told me that my Father had made me another half. That they would be counter to me, be everything I'm not. He said that they would be smart where I'm not. And naive where I'm experienced. Gentle where I'm firm and powerful when I'm weak. That we could be together, for eternity, if we bonded. But that while we could give each other strength, we would be each other's weakness - the death of one would mean the death of both. Once we . . . bond, we're sealed."

Hermione was watching his lips move. Lucifer was worried that lust had addled her brain. He needed her to be the smart one, he was always the horny one.

"Hermione, do you understand?"

She blinked a few times to clear her thoughts.

"If we consummate this relationship, we are bonded, immortally, eternally, to one another."

"Exactly." He was panting now, the exertion of staying apart was exhausting.

"And that I was made for you, by your Father?"

Lucifer nodded his response.

"Do we have a choice? What if we don't, uh, bond?"

Lucifer cringed at the thought, it physically brought him pain.

"The closer we are, like now, it becomes painful to fight the bond. If we stay apart, geographically, it gets weaker. But now that we've been so close, that even your magic has recognized the connection, even if we stay on opposite sides of the world, we will still feel the separation. An empty void. What we felt last night when I left."

Hermione was starting to shake, her body wasn't as strong as his, and wouldn't be able to fight much longer.

"I have to go, you have to decide without me," Lucifer told her.

"Why is it my decision? You don't get a say?"

"Humans get free-will, angels don't. My Father has made that plenty clear to me over the ages. Plus, I can't ask you to commit to eternity under the influence." Lucifer managed to be chivalrous, even with a massive erection in his trousers.

Hermione wanted to protest his decision, to make it her decision, but some logical part of her brain still worked. She nodded.

He let go and practically ran for the door, before they could change their minds. Hermione heard his wings beat the air outside, but when she looked out to the sunny garden, she didn't see him. All this at not even 10 o'clock.

While the fog had cleared from her brain, she had a sensation like a black hole in her chest, a chasm that couldn't be filled. She tried eating lunch, her favorite curry. She tried a visit to her parents. She called Harry. Helpful as it had been to vent, he couldn't make the decision for her.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: This chapter starts the smut. If that sort of stuff offends you, don't read it. Please and thank you. Enjoy!

* * *

Lucifer had flown to Glasgow before he stopped. He didn't trust himself anywhere in England and he wasn't sure Scotland was far enough, but he thought it would work for now.

He stopped in a pub, hoping to drink away his rising anxiety. He was about four whiskies in when his booth got crowded. Gabe, Amenadiel, and Michael sat with him. As his brothers caught up on rounds, they mentioned that Gabe filled them in, and they wanted to be there for Luci, no matter the outcome. So, they told him stories to distract him. And he chuckled along. But they all knew he was being tormented. And with the chance that the pain may never go away, they drank and ignored the problem.

It was dark outside when Lucifer looked up to check the time. The ache in his chest had subsided and he felt better. His brothers, having a clear line of sight to the door, saw it before he did. Hermione walked into the pub, in the middle of Glasgow.

He fought with all his strength not to go to her. This could be their goodbye and touching her would make it harder on them both.

Of course, this was goodbye, he thought to himself. She was a savior of the wizarding world, and he was The Devil. Some people would never understand.

The other three angels stood up when she got to the table. They each mumbled something about nice to meet you, hope to see you again, but Hermione wasn't really paying attention.

She took a seat in the booth across from him, keeping arms and legs to herself. Lucifer gave her the space, too. Despite wanting to reach out to her.

A pint was delivered to her, which appeared to Lucifer to be magic. But then he saw Harry at the bar, her wing-man, here for moral support. Harry was now talking with his brothers. None of them seemed to know what Hermione was going to do.

"This isn't fair." Her announcement broke his reverie.

"I'm sorry," he started.

"It's not fair to you or me." She continued, shifting the blame to his Father, rather than allowing him to take the burden himself. "But I'm not going to submit us both to torture to prove a point."

Lucifer stared at her while he processed her words.

"So, you're saying . . . "

"Let's get out of here," She smiled at him, extending her hand. He took her hand and the relief was instantaneous. The black holes which had taken up residence in their chests were gone.

She stood up and made to leave the booth; he quickly popped up and followed her out, walking closely behind her.

She stopped short at the door, causing him to bump into her, to confirm her suspicions. She looked up at him over her shoulder, mischief danced in her eyes.

He leaned down to whisper in her ear, his breath warm on her ear and neck. "Do that again and we won't make it out of here." He bumped her forward with his hips to help drive home the point.

The two of them waved to their wing-men at the bar, and stepped into the cool Scottish evening. Still hand-in-hand they had taken two steps outside, and the next thing Lucifer knew, they were on the sidewalk outside the garden gate at Hermione's. Lucifer led them to the door, and testing it, discovered she hadn't locked it when she left. He looked at her reproachfully.

"I was distracted when I left," she answered completely sincerely.

The door had barely closed when Hermione wrapped her hands behind Lucifer's head, and pulled him down for a kiss. Without breaking contact, Lucifer lifted Hermione up by a rather firm ass, and landed her hips on top of his. He left his hands on her ass to grope and explore while she used her hips to press her core close to his straining erection. He moaned into her mouth at the sensation. She replied with a throaty, sultry laugh.

"Okay," he panted, "where's the bedroom?"

"Upstairs, then straight ahead."

He didn't need to be told twice. With long strides, he was at the stairs in short order, and took the flight two steps at a time. He landed, unceremoniously on the bed, on top of Hermione. She giggled, then brought his head closer to resume kissing.

Hermione started to untuck the remnants of Lucifer's shirt, when he placed his hands on hers to still her. He pulled away from their kiss to say something. Undeterred, Hermione moved instead to kiss his neck and exposed chest.

"'Mione, I need to tell you something."

She stopped to look at him, she smiled.

"Yes?"

He had been unsure how to mention it, but he knew she'd understand, so he charged right ahead.

"While we're . . . " he gestured at their closeness, "it takes a lot of energy, and is a distraction really, to keep my, uh, my wings hidden." He paused, hoping it was enough explanation. She was the intelligence to his experience, after all.

"So, don't hide them from me," she offered gently. To help settle the point, she resumed her previously thwarted efforts to remove his clothes. But instead, Lucifer stood up, earning a gentle whimper from Hermione.

Lucifer removed what was left of his shirt and suit coat. He closed his eyes as white wings materialized.

Hermione looked at him with adoration, and when he opened his eyes, it was her warm, welcoming face that he saw. It was in that moment that he knew why his Father had chosen her, why she had been chosen as his better half.

Hermione reached out to Lucifer, not to touch his wings, but for his hand. She pulled him back into the bed.

"You're beautiful," she told him. And cupping his strong, stubble-lined jaw in her small, delicate hand, she kissed him. She had seen the concern is his eyes, the worry that she might see him differently, that he might be cast aside as some "other." But to her, she saw honesty and vulnerability in a being that with immense power - like an animal showing its weakness to be accepted by the pack, he let his guard down, hoping to be accepted.

Hermione realized that this cocky, confident angel had been worried that in his honesty, he would be rejected, again, and was scared. She didn't know before, what a silly little witch could do to be the "other half" of The Devil; but when she saw him stand there, eyes pressed shut tightly, she could be his comfort, give him the acceptance he had been denied millennia ago. He could be "on" in public, where she often hid and avoided; while here, alone together, she could provide validation he hadn't known before.

Lying next to each other, face-to-face, flush against each other, their need wasn't urgent, they knew it would happen, so they were able to take the time to explore each other, and to explore themselves together, as a pair. Gentle strokes of fingertips along arms, chests, and faces were in order. Sometimes kissing each other's mouths, other times exploring jaws, necks, and ears.

When Hermione's fingers traced their way down Lucifer's side, she frowned when she got to his hips. Since they had been kissing at that point, Lucifer became aware immediately.

"Hmm?" Lucifer hummed a soft question.

"You have on too many clothes," she replied, curling her fingers around the top of his trousers, her touch finding the soft skin of his hip, one side of the "V" where the lean muscle of his torso met his hips and powerful thighs.

He chuckled softly, and moved this hand from her soft, lush breast, to undo and remove the offending garment.

"Let me?" she asked Lucifer, a small glint of mischief in her eyes, a look he was eager to encourage.

"Yes, please," he replied, rolling back a bit, to see whatever it was she had in mind.

He watched as she closed her eyes, and moved her hand in the air, like there were piano keys that needed her gentle touch. He felt nothing, so when he saw her eyes open and travel down his body, he only knew she had removed his trousers when her eyes grew wide.

"You didn't have underwear on?" she asked, despite obviously seeing her answer.

"No, I never do." He smirked at her and pulled her against his now naked body.

They resumed their kissing, his hand continued his exploration of her body, though he had been focusing a lot on her soft and perfectly palm-sized breasts. He hadn't immediately noticed her hand hadn't found its way back to him; he did, however, notice immediately when Hermione's clothes disappeared, her small, naked frame, pressed firmly against his. His erection pressed urgently against her thigh, pinned between the two of them, feeling her soft naked skin pressed against it, the urgency to physically connect returned, and they both felt the need.

He rolled her onto her back, but stayed pressed against her, relishing the feel of her soft body encapsulated by his lithe, muscular frame. Propped up on one elbow, one hand continued its exploration, his hand cupping her breast, his thumb rubbing her nipple, now erect with need at the sensation. He replaced his thumb with his mouth, earning a small gasp and a throaty moan from Hermione. Lucifer suckled and lapped at her nipple, while his hand snaked its way between her thighs, cupping her warm, lightly haired mound. She moaned again, need taking over, her body wanting him inside her, in whatever way she could get it. She arched her back, trying to get closer.

Lucifer shifted to suckle her other breast, and at the same time inserted two long, slender fingers into her slick sex.

"Oh, Lucifer!" she gasped at the sensation, providing some relief to the need she felt for him.

He began to pump his fingers in and out, while his thumb massaged her clit. With the rhythmic penetrations and the added attention of his thumb, she was over the brink in no time. She came in gasps, and utterances of his name.

He moved his mouth to her neck and whispered "oh, Hermione," in her ear.

She wrapped her arms around him, working the fingers of one hand in the hair at his neck, the other around wrapped around his back, touching his strong back muscles and exploring the base of his wings.

"Are you ready for me?" his breath on her neck and ear was warm, his tone was mischievous and full of promise.

A moan of "please" escaped Hermione's lips.

Lucifer chuckled, whispering back, "Mmm, such good manners."

Lucifer slid into her completely, Hermione rolled her head back and moaned "Oh, Lucifer!"

Lucifer positioned himself up on his elbows, while Hermione wrapped a leg around his waist. Lucifer continued to thrust into her, while smiling down at her; she smiled back, while her hands explored the muscles and feathers of his wings.

As they got closer to their climax, their actions grew more urgent. Smiles and gentle kisses were replaced by grunts and names uttered as moans. Lucifer waited until Hermione was on the edge, for the two of them to come together.

In a careful maneuver, Lucifer wrapped Hermione in his arms, as he spun onto his back, his wings out to his sides, carefully not pinned beneath them. He pulled Hermione against his side, where she settled into him, her head against his chest, his arm around her back, his thumb lazily drawing circles on her hip bone. Hermione was levitating one of the blankets, rejected earlier to the floor, up from beyond the foot of the bed, to cover them where they lay.

"While I'm sure you're capable of many, more impressive things. You being able to do that right now, not having to get up and leave, that's pretty fantastic," Lucifer told her, squeezing her closer to him.

"I usually don't like to use magic for something trivial, like blanket retrieval, but I'm not sure my legs would support me yet." She felt, more than heard, the soft chuckle from Lucifer, lying against his chest. She looked down towards their toes, to oversee the blanket making its way up the bed.

"What's that?" She asked Lucifer, still looking down at their bodies.

"Well, Hermione, boys and girls are built differently," he started, but stopped when she play-slapped him on the stomach.

"No, your hand."

He looked at his empty hand, seeing nothing odd, he looked at his hand on Hermione's hip.

Where he touched her, their skin had a soft, luminescent glow.

"I have never seen that before. That's not your magic?" he asked, more curious than alarmed.

"No," Hermione may have been more alarmed than curious.

"Let's look into later," he suggested sleepily. He used a combination of toes, wing, and hands to pull the now-abandoned blanket the remainder of the way up their bodies, bringing it up under their arms.

Hermione wanted to protest, to get up and research now, but having no sleep the night prior, she was exhausted and decided Lucifer was probably right.

They slept soundly, the way one does when they feel safe and comforted


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: A bit more adult time in this story. Enjoy!_

* * *

Lucifer woke up to the sound of the shower starting. He cracked open one eye to see Hermione return to the room. She bent over to kiss him.

"Just started warming the shower. Join me?"

He opened both eyes and rolled out of bed, following Hermione into the gently warming bathroom.

Hermione turned, about to question whether they would fit into the shower, wings and all, when she saw he had hidden them.

"How do you do that?" she asked gently, having sensed some hesitation on his part, last night.

"Well, they don't disappear. I still feel them there. But people can't see them, and they pass through things, like clothes for instance."

"May I?" she asked, reaching her hand forward to touch him.

He nodded, slightly, and turned to show his back. When she looked, there was long, lean muscle, and a great, taut ass, but nothing to indicate the presence of wings. She gently ran her fingertips on his lats. As she continued her gentle exploration, she saw Lucifer begin to relax. What she also saw was a faint shimmer. Moving her fingers towards what now looked like a hologram, she touched his wings. Lucifer tried to look over his shoulder at her, feeling her touch on what should have been invisible wings.

Hermione let out a small, satisfied laugh. Then Lucifer laughed too.

"I guess the way my magic recognized you, your wings recognized me?" Hermione offered, as a hypothesis.

Lucifer turned and pulled Hermione into a hug.

"I suppose so," he replied, before taking her lips into a deep kiss.

"Mmm, shower?" Hermione offered lazily.

The shower wasn't huge, "intimate" was an understatement. It fit the pair of them, which excluded the once-again invisible wings. Luckily, the pair of them didn't need a lot of personal space, since they spent the time exploring each other's personal space.

Lucifer started on his knees, lapping at Hermione, until she came, yelling his name.

Hermione returned the favor, taking to her knees, and taking Lucifer in her mouth. When he came, he slammed the palm of his hand against the tile wall, cracking several of them as he shouted "Hermione!"

After the shower, and after Hermione used her wand to fix the broken tiles, they made their way downstairs. In the kitchen they found an owl with an invitation to brunch from Harry, and the promise of an apology from Ginny. With Lucifer in agreement, Hermione quickly scribbled an acceptance on the back of the letter and sent the owl back to the Potter residence.

With a few hours until their reservation, Hermione offered to show Lucifer her workspace in the basement. There, she checked on the potions brewing, making a small adjustment to one, and explained what some of the more fancifully named ingredients were for.

Hermione watched Lucifer, as he read labels and occasionally risked sniffing ingredients. Now that they had bonded physically, there wasn't pain when they separated, but there was still a longing to be close. This brought them together for a snog multiple times that morning.

Close to their reservation time, the pair of them made their way back upstairs. Hermione was explaining what the final details of the divorce were.

"Because he insisted we buy some overpriced mansion, I have to wait until it sells before I get my half back. So, I'm just renting this little place until then."

"So, do you have something against mansions?" Lucifer was trying to make mental notes on the subject of things to buy, or not, during the conversation.

"No, I just have something against overpriced ones." Lucifer nodded in understanding. He had bought a lot of property over the ages, but over-paying for a piece of real estate was never high on his to-do list.

"Um, Hermione?" Lucifer was in the living room, while Hermione was in the powder room, wand in hand, fixing her hair in the mirror.

"Yeah," she said, a bit distractedly, as there was a renegade curl being unresponsive.

"What's the dress code for this place?"

"I'd say smart casual, why?" she had moved from hair to some small touches of makeup.

"I feel "topless" isn't appropriate, then."  
She looked at him. He had slipped his trousers back on, but his shirt and coat had been ruined, so he didn't bother with them this morning beyond throwing them out.

"Can we stop by your place to get you something?"

"If you can apparate us there, sure."

Having never been to the hotel he was staying at, she was worried about arriving in a room with an unknown layout. But she wondered how strong this connection with Lucifer was. Holding his hands, she told him to think about his room, and where they would be standing in it.

And . . . it worked. They landed in the sitting room. Lucifer walked into the bedroom while Hermione looked around. The suite was massive.

"You can afford this place on a club-owner's income?" Hermione didn't know what kind of money clubs in LA made, but was impressed.

"The club, and some other investments over the years." He emerged from the bedroom, in a new suit, a pale grey, and a starched white shirt.

She stepped over to help him button his cuffs. Lucifer bent to kiss her forehead while she worked.

"I'd like to bring you back here tonight, if I may. There's an excellent restaurant downstairs, and an amply stocked bar and wine cellar." Lucifer pulled Hermione into his arms, where she readily snuggled up close to him.

"Sounds like a date to me."

They stood there, holding each other for a while. Now that they had bonded, they weren't driven by lust, they could just enjoy each other's company.

They were roused from their contentment by a ringing phone.

"Shit," Lucifer declared.

Hermione answered her phone. "Yes . . . we're on our way."

"I'm sorry," Lucifer apologized to her when she hung up.

"Don't be. I'd happily be late for you," she paused, and then said, "plus, after what Ginny did yesterday, I want her to sweat a little."

"Mmm, devious. I approve," a sentiment he finished with a deep kiss.

"I guess we can go?" Hermione asked after their kiss.

"Let's," Lucifer said, offering Hermione his arm.

She took it, and apparated them to a little restaurant in Kensington.

They joined the Potters, already seated at the window. When Hermione and Lucifer approached, Harry stood to kiss Hermione and shake Lucifer's hand. Lucifer pulled him in for a bro-hug, keeping their shaking hands between them, but hugging with the remaining hand, of course finished with a firm pat on the back. When the two males parted, they were beaming, having made friends with someone so famous. Ginny, however wore a look of disgust, and Hermione saw it.

When Ginny turned to Hermione, she quickly changed her expression of sadness.

"I'm so sorry about the other day, can you forgive me?"

"I'm fairly certain that it was Lucifer you shot with a fireball, not me. Perhaps you should talk to him."

Apparently, Ginny had expected a different response, because her facade cracked slightly, for a moment, before she could regroup. She spoke to Lucifer next, but didn't face him, keeping her smile pointed at Hermione.

"Lucifer, you'll have to forgive me. I just want the best for my _best_ friend, and your reputation does precede you." She said it in a tone that implied attempted homicide is just water under the bridge.

Lucifer stepped around Hermione, to pull her chair out for her at the table. Then sat down himself.

"You'll have to forgive _me_, most of my interactions with attempted murderers is in a strictly professional setting," Lucifer's reference to Hell was clearly understood by the witch.

The waitress chose this moment to stop by for a drink order.

"Yes please!" Lucifer chimed in, while his point settled in with Ginny. "Are we doing mimosas or Bloody Mary's? Oh, let's do both. You only live once. Well, humans, anyway."

Hermione gave Lucifer a small smirk at the slight, while Ginny looked appropriately uncomfortable. Harry on the other hand had smartly pretended not to hear the exchange, instead focusing on his menu.

Hermione noticed Ginny playing with her necklace, a new one, clearly wanting some attention paid to it.

"Lovely necklace, Ginny, is it new?" Hermione offered, already knowing it was.

"This? No, I think it was my grandmother's. I always loved wearing it." Harry expertly turned his laugh into a cough. Ginny either hadn't noticed or chose to ignore it, and went on playing with the necklace. It was a cross. Apparently, she thought Lucifer was a vampire.

Lucifer reached across to touch and examine the necklace, his tall frame and long arms able to bridge the divide quite easily, compared to the much shorter stature of his dining companions.

"Lovely," was all he offered her.

Ginny was taken aback. She quickly recovered, attempting another path to shoot barbs at the male she thought of as replacing her brother.

"I'm sorry, it must be so insensitive of me, flaunting your enemy like that." She smiled, apparently proud of her comment.

"Enemy? Hardly, no. Jesus is my brother, well, half-brother technically, on my Father's side. It's just remembering what humans did to him, that's what really gets to me." He showed Ginny a glimpse of the fire behind his eyes. If she wanted to play with fire, she wouldn't stand a chance against The Devil.

For the first time since Lucifer and Ginny met, she did the right thing and kept quiet.

The rest of brunch went smoothly. Hermione and Harry discussed their current projects, Harry and Lucifer traded stories of confronting evil-doers, and all of them, well three of them at least, enjoyed the time talking and getting to know each other.

After a couple hours, Ginny insisted the Potters had another engagement and promptly apparated out of there. Lucifer and Hermione took the opportunity to walk around Kensington, slowly making their way to Hyde Park.

They walked hand-in-hand, recounting stories of years gone by. While they talked about loves lost, neither of them hurt like they once had, knowing however rocky the road before, it brought them here together.

"I should get ready, if we're going out to eat tonight," Hermione prompted, realizing it was getting later in the day.

"Sure, of course," Lucifer responded. "Did you want to be alone for a while? I realize we dove right into this and haven't had any alone time, but . . ."

"No." She interjected. "I mean, I don't have to be alone. You could feed Crookshanks for me, while I get ready?"

"Wonderful," Lucifer was getting domesticated fast, but even upon realizing it, he didn't mind.

Hermione offered her arm to him, which he took, laughing as she did it, and they apparated back to the garden.

Lucifer fed Crookshanks, and changed the water in his bowl for some fresh stuff. Crookshanks nuzzled appreciatively, and sat next to Lucifer as he waited for Hermione to finish.

"On a scale of "cocktail dress" to "an evening at the palace", just how fancy is this restaurant?" Hermione called from the bedroom.

"I'd say cocktails with the Duke, but definitely not dinner with the Princess. Does that help?" Lucifer stood and wandered over to the bedroom, finding her in lacy bra and matching panties, wand in one hand and dress in the other, being adjusted ever so slightly.

"Yes, actually. It helps a lot." She finished with the dress, went over to kiss him quickly, then shimmied into her dress. "Your turn?" she asked him.

"Actually, yes, let's." And she grabbed her clutch and apparated the pair of them to his suite.

Lucifer stripped.

"You did that quickly."

"I've had practice," Lucifer replied, regretting it immediately. "I just mean . . . "

"It's okay, I'm not worried." Hermione hadn't known that she wasn't worried. In fact, by all normal measures she should be worried. Her soon-to-be ex had cheated on her, and Lucifer was the most prolific supernatural playboy there was. Any sane witch would assume the worst, but whatever happened with their bonding, she knew she was safe with Lucifer.

He looked relieved when she said it. Lucifer moved towards her, to kiss her, but she held her hands to stop him.

"If you come over here, completely naked, and start kissing me, we'll never get to dinner. And I haven't eaten since brunch. We're not missing dinner."

"Understood. I'll just be a minute."

He was two and a half minutes, but when you have a wardrobe as polished as his, getting ready takes no time.

"Shall we?" Lucifer inquired, as Hermione fastened his cufflinks.

"Apparate?"

"How about the elevator?"

"Good idea."

Stepping into the hall, Hermione realized his suite was a penthouse suite, and there were only two.

"How much are you spending to stay here?" She asked Lucifer, suddenly worried about the bill.

"Why? Do you want to go Dutch this evening?" He chuckled. They stepped into the newly arrived elevator, to head to the lobby.

"It seems like a waste of money when you could stay with me. It's impractical."

"And crash your bachelorette pad? I would feel I'm an imposition."

"We could find something else? I can work from anywhere. Besides, you have a life to get back to, I couldn't keep you tied here."

"If you're tying me up, I'm game for it anywhere." He pulled her against him and she felt the heat emanating from his body.

Hermione placed her hands on his pecs, knowing the elevator would be open in just a few, quick floors.

"I'm serious, we need to figure out arrangements. I can be content anywhere - I can apparate or floo wherever I need to go. I'd hate to keep you away from your work, because you're worried about inconveniencing me."

She was right, he had been. In Britain she was famous and had friends and family, elsewhere she would be his next girl. Lucifer hated the idea that people wouldn't know about the amazing witch he would spend eternity with, which hardened his resolve.

"I'm in the limelight a lot, are you sure you want to be there with me?"

"Honestly, it's a bit terrifying. But I'll be with you, so it won't be that bad. So long as none of your friends try and attack me the way Ginny did you."

They chuckled as the doors were opening. And that's when the demon charged into the elevator.

In a flash, the elevator had closed the three of them in and the emergency pull was activated, locking the car in place. Hermione was knocked to the ground, a hand around her throat and knife against her ribs.

All of this was a blur to Hermione. But Lucifer responded quickly. One-handed he removed the attacker from Hermione, pinned them against the mirrored wall of the elevator, which cracked on the impact. Lucifer stared the individual down, his dark, scaled, devil face alight with fire in his eyes. Staring back at him was Maze, unphased by the lack of oxygen at the present.

Lucifer transformed his face back to normal, but kept his hand on Maze's throat, and her body pressed against a spider-webbed mirror.

"Hermione, allow me to introduce Mazikeen. Mazikeen, this is Hermione, my better half."

"Pleasure," Hermione said, standing, rubbing her sore neck.

Maze rolled her eyes, as she was still unable to breathe, and therefore unable to talk.

"I'm going to let go Maze, and you aren't going to touch her. Do I make myself clear?" Lucifer inquired.

Maze closed her eyes, trying to fight answering, and gave one quick nod. Lucifer let go and Maze involuntarily gasped; she was dropped, landing in a squatting position, but remaining on her feet. Maze rose to her feet, glaring down at Hermione, who she was several inches taller than.

"'Better half?' That's quite a title for your latest piece of ass."

Hermione stepped in front of Lucifer, before he could grab ahold of Maze again.

"Can we get to our dinner? I'm pretty hungry," Hermione offered.

Lucifer reset the emergency stop and the door reopened on the lobby.

"Talk to Amenadiel, he can fill you in," Lucifer said as the pair left, slightly late, for their reservation.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Hope you're enjoying. A bit more sexy-times._

* * *

Compared to the elevator ride, dinner itself was quite tame.

Lucifer, with Hermione's permission, ordered for them. A shared appetizer of stuffed dates; an entree for him of roasted duck with root vegetables; hers a stuffed capon breast with asparagus. Dessert was a flight of gelato. Each course had a wine pairing, picked by Lucifer - he didn't trust the sommelier. ("You can't trust someone who wears white athletic socks with black dress shoes!")

"That was lovely, thank you," Hermione wrapped herself around Lucifer's arm, the couple heading toward the elevator.

"I'd like to invite you up, if I may be so bold."

Hermione giggled and blushed. "Why Mr. Morningstar, how forward of you."

"Wow. You two are disgusting."

Lucifer kept walking, "Goodnight, Maze." They made their way to the elevator call buttons.

"Wait," she said, getting up from her spot on the lobby sofa. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were forced into this. I'm sure you wouldn't have picked her, if it had been up to you, Lucifer."

At this point Lucifer left Hermione at the elevator and walked towards Maze.

"Two points: one, I picked her out of the crowd before we ever met. Two, you'll regret saying that, Maze."

Maze opened her mouth to respond, but Lucifer shook his head. "Don't," he warned her.

He returned to Hermione, holding the elevator for them.

Hermione didn't say anything when he stepped inside, scanning his room key to access the penthouse. She didn't say anything for their trip up to the 52nd floor. When the doors opened at their floor, Hermione stepped forward, into Lucifer's arm, which blocked her path.

"I tried talking to you four times on the elevator - I'm going to need you to talk to me at some point this evening," Lucifer informed her.

"Oh," she seemed a bit shocked. "I hadn't heard."

Lucifer looked at her, waiting for more.

"I was just thinking how you've known Maze for centuries, and here I am getting between you two. I just wonder how this works in His plan, is all."

Lucifer closed his eyes, and waited two beats before commenting.

"Maze is a demon. You are an evil-defeating witch. You're with me because you bring balance to this," he gestured up and down his body. "The only thing Maze can balance is a knife blade."

Lucifer led Hermione out of the elevator, into the room.

He sat on the sofa in the suite's sitting room, and pulled Hermione across his lap. She smiled, and rested her head on his shoulder. He gently stroked her leg while they sat.

"Now what are you thinking about?"

Hermione chuckled, "I was wondering if we could introduce Maze to Ginny."

"You little minx! I'm the Devil, you're supposed to balance me out!" He kissed her forehead.

She looked up and he kissed her mouth. They sat there, tongues mingling, responding, dancing with one another. Then Lucifer placed Hermione on the sofa, while he sank to his knees on the floor between her legs. His slid his strong hands up her legs, to retrieve her panties.

"When did you lose those?" Lucifer asked incredulously.

"About the time I slid the dress on," she said with a mischievous grin.

The growl that came from Lucifer was part lust, part territorial.

He leaned up, kissing her forcefully on the mouth.

"If I weren't so turned on right now, I'd be angry there was nothing between the rest of the world and your sweetness." He kissed her again with an almost bruising force. At the same time, he slipped two long digits into her sex. Her "oh" muffled by Lucifer's mouth. Leaving his fingers in, his slid down her body, taking his mouth to her clit. There he lapped and sucked, slowly building up speed. She came against his face, her body grabbing onto his fingers.

"Take me to the bed," she told him.

Lucifer scooped her up, and gently placed her on the edge of the bed. Sliding out of his suit, he pulled her by the hips to the edge of the bed, where he sheathed himself in her. Standing, he was able to control his thrusts, pulling back so far, he was almost out, then slowly going back in. He tried to go slow, to drive her crazy, but he couldn't resist, and had to pick up speed for his own benefit, pumping faster and harder. She came before he knew it, shouting an obscenity or two. Lucifer continued for a little while longer, his hips slamming into hers. When he came he yelled "Hermione!" He laid next to her on the bed, she still in her dress and bra. They stayed like that briefly, out of breath they traded soft, brief kisses, unable to kiss for much longer, due to potential lack of oxygen. Having caught her breath, Hermione excused herself and went to the loo. Hermione emerged having used the facilities, brushed her teeth and trading her dress for a plush hotel bathrobe. When she returned, Lucifer was asleep. She grabbed her wand to carefully put him under the covers, then, ditching the robe, slid in beside him, to get some sleep.

Hermione awoke the next morning when Lucifer came back in from the balcony.

"' morning," she said drowsily.

"Good morning. Breakfast should be here in a minute." Lucifer sat next to her, leaning down to give her a kiss.

"Mmmm, you smell like fresh air. Were you out there long?" Hermione asked.

"I went out to feed Crookshanks and give him some time in the garden. Wasn't gone half an hour."

Hermione sat up. "My house is a twenty-minute drive, one way." She sat looking at him, expecting him to explain. He smiled at her and continued to sit.

When her brain fully woke up, she put it together.

"You flew. I'm sorry, I get it now." She kissed him on her way to the loo.

While she took care of her morning ablutions, Lucifer let the bellhop in to set up breakfast, and ushered him out with a generous tip.

Hermione returned, dressed for the day, and they sat down to breakfast. They discussed living arrangements over their fry-ups.

"It doesn't make sense to keep throwing money away at a hotel," Hermione argued.

"But I hate to even make my bed, let alone clean up. I don't want to put that burden on you. I know you, you'll feel obligated," Lucifer countered.

Hermione looked at Lucifer while she drank her tea, giving him a look that said 'you're not wrong, but that doesn't mean I like it.'

Once she swallowed, she presented her counterpoint.

"One major factor you forget is that I'm a witch - most of my domestic needs are taken care of by charmed household goods. But if you insist on needing someone else to help with domestic chores, Professor McGonagall asked if I could find Winky other employment - Winky is free house-elf - Winky still doesn't get along with the other house-elves."

Hermione spent the next half-hour explaining house-elves, what happened to Winky, what SPEW is, and a few other questions Lucifer has on the topic.

"If there will be three of us under one roof, we need to move," Lucifer pointed out practically.

After a long pause. Hermione replied. "I'm not very liquid at the moment. I'm afraid I'm tied up until the divorce."

Lucifer offered to pay, telling her at first, she didn't need to pay her half. When that went over poorly, he told her she could cover utilities, since she was already paying some, it wouldn't change much financially.

Hermione needed to drop off some last documents to court, to pave the way for her finalized divorce; so, Lucifer said he would talk to his lawyer about getting Hermione out of the lease on her rental, and talk to an estate agent. Since Lucifer had the penthouse in LA, there was little need to buy another place there, and Hermione has her family and friends in the UK, making for good reasons not to move too far.

Lucifer scrolled through listings on the computer with the agent, narrowing down ones to see in person. It was when he turned down a palatial mansion with a pool and hot tub, because it didn't have a work space for Hermione, he realized something had changed.

Lucifer's number one priority had been Lucifer. Now he was sacrificing things that made him happy, for her.

He excused himself from the agent's desk for a moment, and he went to pace in the parking lot.

Lucifer thought to himself _I should just fly off. I can hide in Australia for a while, until the pain goes away, and she stops thinking about me._ But as soon as he thought it, there was a stabbing pain in his chest, like his heart was ripping in half.

"This is just bloody brilliant!" Lucifer shouted, half to himself, half to his Father.

Lucifer went inside and agreed that he and Hermione would meet her colleague tomorrow to look at the more remote options Lucifer had been looking at.

When Lucifer thought about Hermione, he felt joy, and quite a bit of lust, too. When he thought about himself, he got angry and wanted to run.

He checked his watch. It was too early to call Linda in LA and wake her up to talk.

"Damn it!" Lucifer exclaimed, realizing he was being considerate for other people now, too. The man who had been waiting for a bus when Lucifer walked past, shouting, tried very hard to appear very small.

* * *

Hermione stopped at her place to pick up the paperwork before heading to court. She found Crookshanks was pleased Lucifer had stopped by, but was of course judging her for not doing it herself.

She dropped her dirty laundry off, and replaced the old clothes with some clean ones, stuffing them back into the purse with the invisible extension charm.

Hermione went to her desk to collect paperwork. She was slated to drop off financial disclosures, as well as signing a sworn affidavit, at her muggle attorney's office. Probably 30 minutes tops. She hoped so. It was at this moment, standing at her desk, when she realized she didn't have Lucifer's mobile phone number. If she got delayed, she couldn't let him know.

As a witch, finding him wasn't the worry. What she worried about was the bond - if The Devil was expecting her, but got worried when she didn't show, what kind of hell would he rain down?

Would he? Since they had consummated the bond, there hadn't been any physical symptoms of the bond. She didn't hurt being separated from him, even though they weren't particularly far apart. Maybe he would get over it. He wasn't well known for his monogamy. What if he found a side piece? What if he just left her?

Never one to leave a stray thought alone, Hermione began to over-analyze the whole concept. I'm no time, Hermione has convinced herself that Lucifer was looking for another mate, as well as shacking up with Maze. Should Hermione go, to avoid this inevitable scenario from playing out? Should she take the preemptive strike?

As soon as Hermione began to entertain the thought, her chest hurt. She had to sit down. Once she put serious thought into leaving, where she might go, she hurt. So, the bond was there, strong as ever, and was working to keep them together.

Lucifer arrived at Hermione's just before lunch, two salads from a local shop in tow. Hermione set a simple table for them, and took out some sparkling water for them. Hermione learned Lucifer loved LaCroix, and he hinted that he made have been involved with a deal to make the brand so popular.

They sat quietly eating, though they each attempted to start a conversation, but their heart was never really in it. Finally, after the food was gone and they were still seated, Hermione, the brave Gryffindor that she always was, finally said it.

"Thought about leaving you today." She looked up to see him looking at her, concerned, but not angry.

"I did too," Lucifer replied. Neither of them reacted outwardly.

"I didn't actually want to leave. But, well, I thought you might, and so I figured it would be easier for you to move on if you didn't have to make the first move. I can't be the woman you imagined yourself with. So, me leaving would let you find someone else, someone better."

Now he looked angry.

"I don't understand 'better?' A young, powerful witch, who fought the evil of two lifetimes and won? A beautiful woman with a soul to match? You set a pretty high bar if I'm supposed to find someone, as you say, better." He put his hand out on the table, palm up, reaching toward her, but left her to decide if she wanted to breach the remaining distance.

"A quick internet search and I can see the models and actresses you've been with."

"They were . . ." Lucifer searched for the word and found one, "extracurricular. They were also two-dimensional, and gauche. I'd be lucky, honored really, if you wanted to stay with me."

Hermione put her hand in Lucifer's, palm up too. Lucifer put his other hand on top, face down, enclosing her small hand in his own. Keeping her hand in his, Hermione got up to sit across his lap. She rested her head on Lucifer's shoulder.

They both sighed, relieved and content. They chuckled, that they had shared this very physical response.

"I know that being bonded to the King of Hell was probably not what you had in mind as a day-dreaming schoolgirl. But I hope I can make you happy. Obviously, we are already content together."

"Hmmm," she pondered. "Well, I married my high school sweetheart, who was neither loyal, nor honest, and isn't what anyone would call sexy. So really, he was reliable to me. And famous to all those other witches." She sat up straight, looking Lucifer in the eyes, and put her hand behind his head.

"You on the other hand, you are drop dead sexy, even more famous. And, if I may be so forward," he nodded for her to continue, "an amazing shag."

Lucifer chuckled and pulled her into a deep, passionate kiss, as if to live up to the hype.

The kiss led them to the bedroom, where Lucifer's tall, powerful frame highlighted the ways in which he differed from Hermione's ex. Lucifer's strong, rhythmic pounding brought Hermione right to the edge, where he refused to give her release until she said his name. And she did, over and over, first out of need, then in the shouts of her release. Lucifer practically cried "Hermione" as he went over the edge with her. Wrapped in Lucifer's arms and wings, Hermione discussed the need for the soon-to-be-their place to have a bigger bed, in a bigger bedroom too. Sometimes, in the heat of the moment, Lucifer's wings knocked over items here and there; easy enough to clean up with magic, but they both preferred she didn't have to.

Lucifer checked e-mail on his phone while Hermione popped in the shower for a quick rinse. He had several, about club business that he forwarded to Maze, and one from the estate agent, which let him know a beautiful manor home in the country has just been put on the market; they could see it that afternoon if they were interested, and they were encouraged to act fast. That part amused Lucifer, everything about the relationship had been "act fast." Why would this be any different?

Lucifer went to the bathroom too tell Hermione about the house. After first expressing her hesitance in him paying for it, she reluctantly agreed they should go.

Lucifer called the agent while Hermione dressed; they agreed to meet at the property.

Hermione pointed out they could hardly show up to the house in the middle of the countryside without a magical explanation. Lucifer informed Hermione he had a car at the hotel. After making sure Crookshanks was set for the rest of the day, she apparated them to the hotel. In the lobby, the valet appeared with Lucifer's brand-new Aston Martin convertible. Hermione didn't know much about cars, but she knew it was a _bit_ more expensive than her parents' Volvos; and that it was what James Bond drove.

While there was no doubt Lucifer was speeding, the combination of his driving skill and the well-engineered vehicle made it seem like a leisurely trip to the countryside.

They toured the estate with the agent, all 45 acres, the mansion's eight bedrooms and ten baths, and the guest house, which was accessed from a fork in the driveway, or a long swim across the property's pool. But what hooked Hermione was the study - a large workspace, a niche off of an even larger library. The whole place was empty and so was the library, but Lucifer was happy to help Hermione in filling the library shelves.

Lucifer was chatting with the estate agent in the dining room about when they could close, and what currency was acceptable for a cash sale.

Hermione was sitting on the steps of a grand staircase, reclined, daydreaming about making this place a home. Then her phone started vibrating. She knew it was Harry before she picked up the phone. Most of her magical friends only owled, her parents were working, and all that left was Harry.

"Hi Harry."

"Hermione, could you come over? I was trying to fix something here and I've ruined Ginny's favorite couch."

"Uh, sure. Are you okay? You sound a bit off?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm just worried about what happens if I can't fix it before Ginny gets home."

"Ah. Okay. See you soon."

"Cheers."

Hermione stood in the doorway of the dining room, Lucifer smiled when he saw her standing there.

"Harry needs my help cleaning up a mess before Ginny gets home. Do you mind if I help him out?"

"Not a problem. Shall I pick you up from your place this evening for dinner, say 7 o'clock?"

"Sounds great," Hermione walked in to kiss Lucifer goodbye. "Oh, remind me to exchange phone numbers tonight."

Lucifer chuckled. "Of course. Though I can't help we've muddied up the order of all this."

Hermione giggled, "Agreed."

She walked to the front door, waving over her shoulder as she stepped outside.

"Was she able to get an Uber out here?" The estate agent asked.

"I think she made arrangements with her friend," Lucifer replied, noncommittally.


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione appeared to the front step of the Potters' house. She knocked, and didn't have to wait; Harry answered the door right away, apparently eager to get Hermione's help.

"I'm so glad you made it," Harry said as he shut the door behind her, as they made their way into the small sitting room.

Ginny stood in the far doorway, wand up, aimed at Hermione. Before Hermione could go for her own wand, Ginny cast _Expelliarmus_, disarming Hermione.

It was then she saw Mrs. Molly Weasley in a small chair in the corner of the room. Her wand up, trained on Harry - the woman has cast an Unforgivable on her own son-in-law.

"But why?" Hermione couldn't fathom.

"_But why?_" Mrs. Weasley mimicked back, soaked in acidic sarcasm. "Ronald Weasley. You remember him? He helped save the wizarding world? He was your husband, and you left him. For the Devil, no less!"

Hermione shivered. The look in Molly's eyes was one she had seen before. It was a look of a fanatic, of a woman who couldn't see reason. Hermione saw eyes like that when she was tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange.

Hermione quickly turned, her hands on the door knob, pulling the door from the frame.

"_Stupefy_!" Was the last thing Hermione heard from Ginny, as her face rushed towards the door.

* * *

Lucifer has just turned his key fob over to the valet when he felt it. He felt her fear, and then the ache - the empty feeling of being ripped from her. Something was wrong and he knew it.

Instead of going into the lobby, he jogged down the street; his aching feeling got worse. He stopped, turned, and ran the other way, passing the hotel and beyond. The ache lessened, ever so slightly. He despised resorting to playing hot and cold, but he knew something was wrong, and this was the only way he was going to find Hermione.

It was dusk and Lucifer was running, occasionally backtracking to turn down a street he had passed. Once it was dark, he could fly, and do this much easier; he had tried going high enough not to be seen, but the ache was so grey, he couldn't make heads or tails of small changes he needed to make to correct his course.

"It shouldn't be this easy to sneak up on you," Maze said, now running alongside Lucifer.

"It's precisely why I called you. Right now, all I can be is a compass. But Hell help whoever did this, once I get her to safety. Millennia later, but I finally understand why my Father enjoyed smiting people."

He stopped to turn down an alley. He was walking now. Maze had one of her knives out, and was prowling, more than she was walking.

"This place is weird," she said to Lucifer.

"It's because this area caters to wizards and witches, even though it's just an ordinary street."

"How do they get away with that?"

"Humans see what they want to see. You and I see what's there, we know better. Wait . . . " he backed up a few steps, and stepped forward again, and back and forth again.

"This is the place." It was the service door to an old inn. The place looked like it was abandoned for a while, by both Muggles and magical beings.

Maze had the door opened rather quickly, despite being locked, and without a sound, too. Lucifer wondered what kind of spells they might encounter, but had to push on, for Hermione's sake.

"It smells funny in here," Maze whispered as they crept through the ground floor rooms, clearing each space methodically, making sure they wouldn't get surprised from behind.

"It's residual magic," Lucifer replied.

Maze gave Lucifer a look that said _how do you know?_

"There's a smell too faint for humans, or even witches and wizards to smell, but it's there. And each person's scent is different."

"Oh, like B.O.?" Maze offered.

Lucifer rolled his eyes, "If that helps to understand, yes, like B.O.," they proceeded to creep up to the first floor.

They cleared the first floor, Lucifer knew they were closer because the pain in his chest was lessening, and Maze noting that the smell was a bit stronger.

"None of that is her magic though. I know her scent."

Maze raised her eyebrows suggestively at Lucifer.

Lucifer shook his head and sighed, before proceeding up to the second floor.

They didn't need their noses to figure out they were on the right floor: the lights were on in a room down the hall and they could hear people talking. Lucifer recognized Ginny's voice, but didn't recognize another woman's voice nor a man's, though he knew it wasn't Harry.

Maze stealthily made her way down the hall, to flank the door from the far side. Lucifer stood next to the other door on the near side. They hadn't planned anything at this point, so Lucifer figured he would truly 'wing' it. Lucifer appeared now as The Devil - red, leathery skin; large, bat wings; horns. Maze, too, let her true, demonic face show - half her face decayed away, leaving gore and bone.

Barging into the room, Maze led the way. With a charge, she was able to tackle some old woman, and knocked the wand out of her hand. Lucifer swatted at Ginny's outstretched arm, disarming her from her wand, and more than likely, breaking a few bones in her hand.

Ginny crumpled to the floor, cradling her broken hand in her good one. Maze kneeled on the back of the loud, orange woman. Lucifer and the unverified man faced each other.

"You must be Ron," Lucifer bellowed, relishing this whole moment.

Ron, stood, wand pressed against Hermione's temple, as she sat bound and gagged in a chair.

"You're a bloody freak! Why would she pick you over me?" Ron, egotistical as ever, yelled at Lucifer.

"Well, Ronald, I am the King of Hell." With that, Lucifer transformed back into his topless, angelic self - tall, dark, and handsome, with wings.

Ron looked him over from head to toe. The trim, dark hair and five o'clock shadow on a strong jawline. The broad shoulders, and six-pack abs, balanced with an impressive set of snow-white wings.

"Okay. But she was mine. You can't take her from me!"

Ever the petulant child, Ron's whining was practically crying.

"You abandoned her Ron. You cheated on her, over and over. You abused her trust, and after more chances than you deserve, she left you." As Lucifer's message hit with each word, Ron's arm grew more and more slack. It was at that point that Maze had snuck being him and grabbed the wand from him.

Lucifer stepped forward and ripped apart the rope that bound her with his bare hands.

She pulled the gag from her mouth as Lucifer tore apart the ropes on her legs, freeing her from the chair. Hermione sprang into Lucifer, knocking him off-balance and sending them both to the floor. Their kiss was passionate, though short lived.

"How could you do this to my son?" Molly cried out.

"How could _I_ do this? How could _I_? That's really rich. But you'll get your wish Molly, Ron will live closer to home. He'll have to move back to The Burrow once the divorce is finalized and the house is sold. Isn't it what you've always wanted, actually?" Hermione said to mock Molly, with no small amount of acid and condescension.

"Ginny, how could do this?" Hermione wanted to understand.

"He's my brother! And you left him for the Devil? You're a pair of freaks. I hope you're happy together."

Hermione's phone took this inconvenient time to ring, despite being in Molly's sweater pocket.

Maze grabbed the phone out of the pocket, scaring Molly, which made Maze smile. She passed the phone to Hermione.

"Harry? Are you okay? . . . no, I understand . . . trust me, I understand . . . yeah . . . okay . . . I'll talk to them tomorrow . . . yes, I'll come down in person. Okay, stay safe . . . goodnight."

Lucifer put his arm around Hermione's shoulders, as Maze zip tied the Weasleys' hands behind their backs.

"What did Harry say?" Lucifer asked Hermione.

"When he recovered from being under the Imperious curse - where someone else controls everything you do - he called the aurors. They are on their way here. I have to go to the Ministry of Magic tomorrow to give a statement. But the Weasleys may end up in Azkaban at the end of this," Hermione smiled, Molly blanched, Ron grimaced, and Ginny started to cry.

Lucifer didn't follow half of what she said, but he figured he could ask later, since it seemed to be good for Hermione and bad for her attackers.

Maze reluctantly handed the Weasleys over to the aurors when they arrived. Lucifer stayed with Hermione, his arm around her, while she told the aurors of her plans to come in in the morning.

"Let's get out of here," Lucifer offered.

Hermione apparated them to her place, where she was greeted by an anxious Crookshanks. She picked him up and the three of them made themselves comfortable on the sofa, each of them lying on the other.

Lucifer reached in front of Hermione and handed her his phone.

"Your mobile number, now."

Hermione programmed her number into his phone, and then immediately called her phone.

She wiggled, getting her phone from her jeans pocket while Lucifer had a leg draped over her. She looked at her phone to make sure his number showed up and then ended the call. She programmed the missed number into her phone, and once saved, tossed the two phones onto the coffee table, then reclined against Lucifer's chest, closing her eyes.

"That was one crazy wizarding family," Lucifer offered, as he played with a strand of Hermione's hair.

"I wish that was all that passed for crazy." Hermione let the rest of the explanation go unsaid. She had gone over the war with him before, it wasn't necessary. Plus being taken and held captive brought back a lot of trauma. She wasn't in the mood for anything but a hot bath and sleep.

Lucifer massaged Hermione's feet while she soaked in the tub. Hermione smiled at him, his dark eyes offered her comfort.

She abruptly sat up straighter. "I just realized you still don't have a shirt on. Come to think of it, why were you topless to begin with?"

"Devil wings, or angel wings for that matter, don't do well with shirts. It's why they stay hidden so often. I'd go broke if I had to replace my Tom Ford shirts daily. Let alone replacing suit jackets."

"I'm sure I can help with that," she began to chew in her bottom lip. "I know, I can charm the backs of your shirts, and jackets, so that celestial things can pass through, but for the terrestrial, it's just like regular fabric."

"Tom Ford is not 'regular' fabric."

Hermione pulled her legs in, sitting up in the tub, and gave Lucifer a cross look.

Lucifer put his hands up in mock-surrender. "But I get your point." He stood and offered her a hand to help her up and out of the tub. "You don't have to, but if you could, that would be lovely."

Lucifer was not sure if this was real, or when and if the other shoe would drop. It was hard for all of this to be real, for his father to actually bring this kind of joy into his life. He had been given so much, throughout history, with it just to be taken away again, he was afraid to believe it.

"You coming to bed?" Hermione asked, bringing Lucifer back from his distraction.

She was under the covers, looking for Lucifer to join her. While it was approaching dawn, after the events of last night, they were exhausted and ready to collapse.

"What happens now?" Lucifer asked.

"Sleep, I hope."

He gave her an exasperated look, "You know what I mean."

Hermione sat up straighter. "I don't know, but I know I want to be with you."

Lucifer smiled and climbed into bed, leaning over to kiss Hermione.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Just wanted a quick "where are they now" moment. And a bit of smut thrown in too._

* * *

"Hey, Hermione, what is this?"

Lucifer heard her mumble around her toothbrush.

"Do you want to try that again?" he chuckled.

He heard her spit and rinse her toothbrush.

Lucifer walked back towards their en suite with the questionable item in hand, while she started to walk out of it. They met near the bed.

He held it out to her at arm's length, grasped in two fingers.

"THAT is a porcupine hide, as butchered by a basilisk fang."

"Elch!" Lucifer made to drop the thing, but Hermione caught it with magic and walked back with it toward the large, sunny window in her workspace.

"It needs to dry out before I can sell it."

"You do remember that you don't have to work? I have more than enough money for us to live in luxury." Lucifer gestured to the room around them.

"Yes, I remember. BUT do you remember that I want to contribute?" She saw him make a face. "Plus, I want to hone my craft. And, thanks to this luxury, I can study and experiment, instead of wasting away in some mindless Ministry job."

Lucifer stepped behind Hermione, wrapping his arms around her waist, while she fiddled with her ingredients in the window. He leaned down, breathing in the scent of her hair, nuzzling it aside and finding his way to her neck, where he placed a soft, delicate kiss. Hermione shivered at the soft touch. She made to turn around in his arms, but he tightened his arms, just slightly, encouraging her to stay faced away from him. She let out a small, disappointed, whimpering sort of moan. Lucifer replied by grinding his hips against her, pressing his growing desire against her backside. Hermione responded with a much more pleasurable moan this time. Lucifer grunted as he attempted to hold onto Hermione with one hand and undo his belt with the other. Temporarily released, Hermione grabbed her wand and removed the offending belt, along with everything else Lucifer, and Hermione, were wearing. Pressed up against the wall, Hermione felt Lucifer slide into her. After months together, in their home in the country, she still couldn't get enough of him: the feel of him, how he filled her completely, the force he used pounding into her.

Lucifer brought her to climax after moans started to sound pleading with need. Lucifer came shortly after.

Separated, Hermione turned, now she wasn't held in place, and kissed Lucifer passionately. Lucifer picked her up to carry her back into their bedroom.

They both appreciated being able to work from home on days like this.

* * *

_Thank for reading!_


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